The Winnipeg Jets are now seven games into yet another season in which Ondrej Pavelec is their starting goaltender. And, surprise surprise, it’s not going well. #Pavelectric he may be, but the beleagured netminder was chased from the net Friday night by Jonathan Drouin and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Rookie “backup” Michael Hutchinson came in, holding off the Bolts for the third period, holding them to their four goals from the first forty minutes.
The Czech goalie so far has an abysmal .899 save percentage, good for 41st in the NHL, as well as a less-than-stellar 2.71 goals-against average (slightly better, at 29th). Of course, it’s still very much early going, but these are hardly good omens. If they aren’t already, the Jets should be wary of Ondrej Pavelec continuing to be Ondrej Pavelec. He has a career .905 save percentage, which is well below average (certainly for starting goalies). Last season, over 57 games, he saved just 90.1% of shots, and his GAA was 3.01. He’s shown himself to be consistently poor.
In fact, over the last five years, Pavelec is 62nd in the league in save percentage at .906, and 70th in GAA (2.87), despite being 6th in games played. Vesa Toskala, widely considered one of the worst starting goaltenders in recent memory, had a career .902 percentage, and a 2.76 GAA.
However, the real kicker with Pavelec is his contract. He’s signed to the Jets through 2017, with an average cap hit of $3.9 million dollars. To put that in perspective, both Antti Niemi and Niklas Backstrom make less. Jonas Hiller, Roberto Luongo and Jaroslav Halak only make about $600,000 more. As such, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff finds himself in one heck of a hole. What NHL team wants a goalie as bad as Pavelec for that amount of money?
Although, it’s hard to tell if Cheveldayoff knows the depth of the hole he’s dug himself. Last summer, the Jets used neither of the two compliance buyouts they were allowed under the new CBA. One of them would certainly have not been wasted on Pavelec. So, the question really is, how long will it be before Winnipeg’s management comes to the same conclusion as the rest of the hockey world: that Pavelec can’t cut it as a bona fide number one goalie. Said conclusion likely won’t be drawn by coach Paul Maurice, however, who’s the latest in Winnipeg to offer his support for the goalie (although, it’s not like the coach is going to say otherwise).
Once (if?) that revelation finally does occur, what options do the Jets have? Many fans and critics are against saddling rookies like Hutchinson (who was also chased from his first start of the season) or Connor Hellebuyck of the AHL’s St. John’s Ice Caps with NHL responsibilities. But one has to wonder why they haven’t considered giving Peter Budaj a chance. He was acquired via trade in the summer, and waived just a day later. He’s not ideal, but certainly would be a better option than Pavelec. Budaj is itching to try and win a starting job in the NHL, and this should, in a fair world, be his shot. He’s 32, and won’t get many more opportunities. Sure, he’s on the tail end of his career, but he’d be a good mentor for the young goalie prospects. Besides, it would be quite poor management to just not use this potentially beneficial piece they acquired.
Of course, there’s always the possibility of a trade, too. The longer Pavelec starts for Winnipeg, the more rumours will swirl around Toronto’s James Reimer. He’s a Manitoba native, and last summer requested a trade away from the Leafs. Of course, that could change, considering how well he’s currently playing. However, there’s always a potential for the Jets to call about him, especially since they have some quite attractive assets (Evander Kane, anyone?).
Of course, the fact that Kevin Cheveldayoff has not made a single trade that includes an NHL player on both sides in his time as GM (now in his fourth season) should be taken into account when talking about any moves for a goaltender.
Actually, maybe the reason Pavelec is so bad is because of his zone starts. In the words of Mitch Tierney, Last Word On Sports featured columnist, “He’s like almost 100% in the defensive zone…. ridiculous”.
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